Rev pax - cheap booking tips?

Hi all,

As some of you may have read at some point or another, I'll be studying abroad in SVQ this fall, coming from MSP. I'll need to be in SVQ on 9/9 by 1800 local time, so I'd have to leave on 9/8. I'm planning on leaving a few days after the semester is over on 12/23, just in time for Christmas (I know that's inevitably going to increase my costs a bit, but that's one thing I think would be worth the extra cost).

Now, obviously it's not going to be cheap if I show up at MSP, ticket not even purchased, flying business class the whole way. But surely there are ways to book a bit more cheap? I have to have my travel itinerary sent to the school by 7/15, but would it make more sense to book now, or closer to that date? Also, I noticed that fares were $400 cheaper ($760 vs $1180) flying out of ORD, rather than MSP. Considering a flight those same days from MSP to ORD nonstop would have run only $140, it seems like it'd make more sense to do that. Any tips for doing something similar to get lower fares, say from JFK or elsewhere?

Any tips are more than welcome.

Thanks!
Brian

I don't understand why you would not consider in advance to have plan A B C on Delta flights at N/C if you have a few days flexibility? (other than taxes)
NW privs are = in July after the merger joins bennies...what am I missing here? Are your required to book a ticket or just a seat request? Not understanding any of your dates re Sept then Dec
If you can still buy conf'd seats after 6/23 shakes out why not do it then?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mrs767er @ May 3 2009, 10:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

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I don&#39;t understand why you would not consider in advance to have plan A B C on Delta flights at N/C if you have a few days flexibility? (other than taxes)
NW privs are = in July after the merger joins bennies...what am I missing here? Are your required to book a ticket or just a seat request? Not understanding any of your dates re Sept then Dec
If you can still buy conf&#39;d seats after 6/23 shakes out why not do it then?[/b]

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I&#39;d love to nonrev to Seville (or near it) but I&#39;m a former NW employee after I had a seasonal job at MSP last summer. Definitely not enough to be a retiree or anything. As a result, I&#39;m just an airline geek at heart that has to cough up money to fly, wishing he could have the flexibility (in some ways) of nonreving once again. The dates are when I go to Seville and when I return (like I said, it&#39;s a study-abroad thing, not just a vacation)

Granted, I might be working for Mesaba at the regional airport where I go to school, the manager wants to hire me when a position opens up, but I don&#39;t know that I&#39;ll have the bennies when I&#39;m gone (hard to do that when I&#39;ll have a 3.5 month absence).

Of course, if you want to give me a buddy pass to MAD or BCN or something across the Atlantic, I&#39;m all ears http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gif (there are no US flights to SVQ, but enough within Europe)

Hi Brian

Try looking at kayak.com
I entered your dates and it came back with a price of $700 w 2 stops.

I&#39;ve had to do some pricing for family and have found that Iberia has had some pretty nice fares in the past (last summer EU)

I would always look at direct websites, like KLM running connecting special say MSP thru AMS to combat Iberia deals. Similar may be true to go past SVQ (Lufthansa via Fra?) to get good $

It&#39;s a game sometimes and keep in mind some engines like Orbitz etc only offer their cohorts so maybe there&#39;s a special on anotehr site that doesn&#39;t show--I know we&#39;re all a bit smarter than the average rev but they don&#39;t know half this stuff either!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Migflanker @ May 4 2009, 11:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

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Hi Brian

Try looking at kayak.com
I entered your dates and it came back with a price of $700 w 2 stops.[/b]

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Strange... I have been using Kayak, and haven&#39;t been getting prices like that, not out of MSP. Even if I do find something close, when I look at cheaptickets (where Kayak would find the fare at that price) it&#39;d be gone... must have been old information or something. Damn our industry making a game out of this http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...R#>/tongue.gif

Brian you right http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gif , I did modify my search a bit. ORD to SVQ with 2 stops $699.
Good luck with the search and with your schooling.

Thanks... I&#39;m thinking that $740 from ORD-SVQ (could be cheaper, but like I said, I have to be in SVQ by 18:00) + $200 from MSP-ORD on UA = $940 after taxes. For a rev transatlantic flight like that under a grand, it&#39;s hard to get much better than that, right? Or would I be well-off to wait a while? Keep in mind, there will be quite a few others doing the same program, so I&#39;m sure they will make fares go up as they book

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (spongebue @ May 5 2009, 11:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

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Thanks... I&#39;m thinking that $740 from ORD-SVQ (could be cheaper, but like I said, I have to be in SVQ by 18:00) + $200 from MSP-ORD on UA = $940 after taxes. For a rev transatlantic flight like that under a grand, it&#39;s hard to get much better than that, right? Or would I be well-off to wait a while? Keep in mind, there will be quite a few others doing the same program, so I&#39;m sure they will make fares go up as they book[/b]

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Unfortunately Brian my crystal ball is out for repairs. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif
As far as when to buy your ticket, you&#39;ve done the research, you would be the best judge. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gif Another site you might want to take a look at - skyscanner.

Ok, all booked. $900RT from MSP-ORD, then ORD-LHR-MAD-SVQ on a separate ticket (hey, I like layovers http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif ). Not a bad price, and on my way back I&#39;ll be going from LHR-ORD on a BA 747, never been off the ground in one of those before http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif

Hate to tell you Brian but I&#39;d be surprised if it was a 747 on LHR-ORD .... we normally fly 777 s on that route.
Also would suggest that you apply for BA Exec card and onec you&#39;ve got the no. call BA up and get the card added to your booking so you get the mileage on a journey like the one you have ...it won&#39;t be loads but its something for nothing as you&#39;ve already booked.
rgds

Eeeek, crap! cheaptickets.com showed it as a 747, but you&#39;re right, that&#39;s what it&#39;s showing on ba.com now http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e..._DIR#>/sad.gif

And I suppose that it might not be a bad idea geting a frequent flier account... they&#39;re cross-compatible with other OneWorld alliance partners, aren&#39;t they? I&#39;m sure I&#39;ll be on a few other flights while I&#39;m out there, especially on IB...

Uh oh... NW changed their schedules, so I&#39;m on the new last flight out of ORD on NW/DL... 6:30PM, rather than 8:00PM. I come into ORD from LHR at 6:10PM on a separate ticket on BA. So far, the options I for sure have are the following:

1. Reschedule to the first flight out the next morning, stay in a cheap hotel
2. Reschedule to the first flight out the next morning, stay overnight in the airport (after going from SVQ-MAD-LHR-ORD, I don&#39;t think staying in an airport much longer will be very appealing)
3. Get a refund on my NW ticket, possibly enduring penalties (could probably get them waived, since they rescheduled it) and rebook a more expensive flight on UA or AA
4. Make a post on nonrev.net and see what other people suggest http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif

Anyone at BA know of a way to get my flight to ORD changed so it&#39;s earlier, perhaps, without getting penalized to the point that it&#39;s more expensive than a fresh ORD-MSP ticket? Jumper, since you work or NW res, maybe you have an idea?

Thanks!
Brian

Brian,
I&#39;d forget about trying to change your flight out of LHR as the earlier flight departs before your flight from MAD arrives http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/angry.gif and I think that trying to change all the connections will be more hassle than its worth .... I think that the best thing you can do is to push back on NW and see what you can get out of them.
Rgds

Brian, I know you&#39;ve already gotten your ticket to Spain, but, thought you still might be interested in a list of websites that cater to student travelers. After all, there are always school holidays. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gif

Student Airfare Finders

Thanks, I have checked STA Travel and Student Universe already, but they either didn&#39;t have anything available or were more expensive than what I paid (and I think I got a good deal, even if for a long journey). I&#39;ll probably check into some of that stuff for my side trips, though. Got the last room at a nice hostel in Munich for a weekend Oktoberfest http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif

Hello again folks, I have another question for you all if you don&#39;t mind. If I&#39;m being a pesky rev pax with all these posts, please please PLEASE let me know. I&#39;d rather be comfortable here than have some questions answered (if even that happens).

I&#39;m about halfway though my semester here, and am thinking of my journey home. One part that I&#39;ve thought about is the checked bag fees that I&#39;m bound to have... I&#39;ll have 2 of them, and paying online at United may not be an option (I won&#39;t have computer access 24 hours or less before departure). However, I just thought of something earlier today. First off, a reminder: I have 2 tickets for my flights. On my way home, I&#39;ll be flying IB SVQ-MAD-LHR and BA LHR-ORD on one ticket, and then UA ORD-MSP on another. I did the same thing on my way here, but in reverse order (and LHR-MAD was a BA flight, but that&#39;s just a little detail).

Anyway, I was thinking about how the CSA for United offered to check my bags all the way to Seville when I mentioned what I was doing. I declined for a couple reasons, but now I&#39;m thinking: What if I asked about checking my bags from Seville all the way to Minneapolis? Iberia won&#39;t charge me for the checked bags on my ticket, and in theory I should be able to just throw them back on the belt after going through customs at ORD, with that MSP sticker already attached. Bag sorters see a sticker saying MSP on it, with my flight number, and load it up. I then check in to get a boarding pass from United, and say I have no more bags to check (that&#39;s the one part I&#39;m a little nervous about, but I don&#39;t think they check for payment at every scan, and what are they going to do? Hold my bags hostage).

Obviously, there&#39;s probably a better chance of my bags getting misplaced, but if I&#39;m home I can stand a delay of a couple days.

I now ask you guys to tell me why my plan won&#39;t work, por favor http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif